Marchers condemn violence, remember lost community members

Twelve months ago Sascha Johnston watched the AFL grand final with her 18-year-old son Kaiden.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that this story includes names and images of Indigenous people who have died.

Hours later, he was allegedly murdered by three people, only 500 metres from his home in Victoria's east.

Instead of sharing a couch with him to watch the big game this year, she was preparing to march the streets of Morwell, to condemn violence in his honour.

She rallied a 300-strong crowd of people of all ages, and also managed to gather other Latrobe Valley families who have lost loved ones to violence.

They walked down the main street and gathered in the local park to talk about change and tell the young people of the Latrobe Valley that weapons and violence are never the answer.

Addressing the crowd, Ms Johnston said she was proud of her community.

"We've all just used our voices and our feet to say that we want a safe community," she said.

"We all deserve to be safe and we need to be teaching our kids and young people there's never ever the right time for a weapon.

"Young lives lost, young lives with so much future ahead of them that they would have contributed to society, and what's left is insurmountable pain.

"We deserve safe streets, [a] safe community for our children, for the young ones, for anyone."

A young life lost

Kaiden Morgan-Johnston was a proud Yorta Yorta, Wakka Wakka and Wurundjeri man living on Gunaikurnai country.

He worked at Bunnings, spent time with mates and was quickly becoming a young Aboriginal leader, dancing with local Indigenous dance group Boorun Boys.

"You know, he's not here to finish his story, but I'll be finishing it on his behalf," Ms Johnston said.

"I do this with Kaiden, I know he's with me, I do this with him,"

"That's my mission as his mum."

In the latest data from the Crime Statistics Agency, Latrobe Valley recorded the highest rate of criminal incidents in Victoria outside the City of Melbourne.

In the weeks before Kaiden died, the Victorian government introduced machete bins.

But Ms Johnston said she believed teaching young people not to carry them at all was the most important thing.

"There were probably machetes that went into those bins that were from someone's garden shed, but not the young people that are pulling them out and using them as weapons," Ms Johnston said.

"If someone feels they're at risk, they think their only way to keep safe is to carry a weapon, that's the problem.

"We just need everybody to put them down."

When Mr Morgan-Johnston was about 15 years old, he was robbed on a tram by a group of boys at knifepoint.

"You know, that was the path Kaiden wanted to go down after he got robbed," Ms Johnston said.

"And we worked through that, we said that's not the solution.

"He grew up and he realised that's not the way to solve anything, so he wasn't interested in carrying weapons or anything like that."

But above all, she wants society to be safer.

"In his short life, he was robbed for his shoes and his phone," Ms Johnston said.

"And then he's [allegedly] murdered at 18.

"What kind of world have we created that a young person can experience that level of violence?"

Families remember lost loved ones

Walking alongside Mr Morgan-Johnston's family were the families of slain GP Dr Ashley Gordon and Roy Poole, who was killed in Moe in 2011.

Dr Ashley Gordon grew up in the Latrobe Valley and went to school in Morwell. His family is well-known for running the local childcare centre.

Dr Gordon was murdered in 2024 by a teenager with a knife. He had chased a group of boys who had broken into his home.

His sister Natalie Gordon has since been vocal about preventing knife crime.

"I think it's amazing that so many people are getting behind it and so many young faces," Ms Gordon said.

"It's really, really nice to see so many young people understanding their actions have consequences and, you know, fighting against wrong."

Ms Gordon has campaigned for tougher penalties for youth crime and legislation like Jack's Law to be brought to Victoria.

The law allows police to check people for weapons in public places using metal detectors, without warrants.

Never-ending pain

In 2011, Bec Kennedy's brother Roy Poole was stabbed to death alongside his friend Evan Rudd, during an argument over a car park in a block of flats in Moe.

"Everyone's life moves on after such a tragedy, but for those that are directly impacted, it never, never stops," Ms Kennedy said.

"I don't think it matters how long ago that you lose a loved one."

She has never spoken publicly about her brother's death.

The man who was convicted of his manslaughter, and the murder of Mr Rudd, is serving a 31-year prison sentence.

At the time of the killings, he was on parole.

"We just want a safe community,"

Ms Kennedy said.

"I think back when everything happened, I was a bit of a silent bystander.

"It was very, very hard for me to deal with.

"It was huge for me to be able to come today and walk beside everyone."

Victoria Police Detective Inspector Matt Gleeson said police supported the rally.

"It brings attention to the community and raising the awareness and for us, it supports the stopping of violence in our communities, which is a good thing," he said.

"There were no issues there yesterday, it was a good day for it, plenty of people turned out I'm told so the objective was achieved by the family."